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October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

ATTENTION! Our ZAZENKAI this month will be on SUNDAY (October 3rd) and not on the usual Saturday, due to a sudden personal commitment. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Dear All,

Please 'sit-a-long' with our MONTHLY4-hourZAZENKAI, netcast LIVE from 9pm to 1am Japan time SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!! (that is New York 8am to noon, Los Angeles 5am to 9am, London 1pm to 5pm and Paris 2pm to 6pm, SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!) ... and visible at the following link during those times ...

But FEAR NOT if not possible for you to join 'live' in your location at those times, as the entire sitting is recorded in 'REAL TIME' and available for full participation 'ON DEMAND' at ANY TIME after that, no different from the 'live' sitting . Just click then on the links below:

THE 'REAL TIME, ANY TIME' recorded version is divided into 2 parts as follows (click on the blue links) :

Our Zazenkai consists of our chanting the 'Heart Sutra' and the 'Identity of Relative and Absolute (Sandokai)' in English (please download our Chant Book at the link below), some full floor prostrations (please follow along with me ... or a simple Gassho can be substituted if you wish), a little talk by me ... and we close with the 'Metta Chant', followed at the end with the 'Verse of Atonement' and 'The Four Vows'. Oh, and lots and lots of Zazen and walkin' Kinhin in between!

Please download and print out the Chant Book (PDF) at the following link:

I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU POSITION YOUR ZAFU ON THE FLOOR IN A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE NOT STARING DIRECTLY AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT CAN GLANCE OVER AND SEE THE SCREEN WHEN NECESSARY. YOUR ZAFU SHOULD ALSO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPUTER SCREEN WHILE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE ZAFU FOR THE CEREMONIES, AND HAVE ROOM FOR BOWING AND KINHIN.

ALSO, REMEMBER TO SET YOUR COMPUTER (& SCREEN SAVER) SO THAT IT DOES NOT SHUT OFF DURING THE 4 HOURS.

I hope you will join us ... an open Zafu is waiting. When we drop all thought of 'here' 'there' 'now' 'then' ... we are sitting all together!

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

I wont be able to attend on Sunday, so I plan to pre-sit this one on Saturday the same (usual) time. This is no alterative happening, just I know I couldnt fit in the four hours before next saturday. If someone is in the same situation and wan to join me, I will try to be in the zendo (live zen hall) during this 4 hours while following the May 4 hour zazenkai.

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

Great Zazenkai! Thanks for the Dharma talk on food and gratitude and inter-relatedness. It's funny how sometimes when I pray like this before a meal I begin to think about the farmer, the land, the seed, where it came from etc and almost go into a reverie about it all. I recall seeing an animated piece once that did something similar, getting down to the atoms of the seed that became a universe in itself...and so on.

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

It was a wonderful experience participating live in a Treeleaf zazenkai for the first time, I felt supported and connected with the community. I told myself last night if I woke up in time, I'd sit with the sangha today, and lo and behold, I woke up at 7:50 this AM

Enjoyed the talk on the meal chant, I took care to recite the meal chant before my "delicious" meal that I had after the sit today... which was especially delicious given that it was the first thing I ate today :wink: Boy, those last two periods on an empty stomach were rough, my mind was really protesting! :shock:

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

Hi all,

Sorry I missed the zazenkai this morning, especially being Stephanie's first! But at the appointed time I was tucked away in my bed trying to heal from a nasty sinus infection. However, when I do sit it will be as if you are all there with me...because you will be!

Re: October 3rd, 2010 - OUR MONTHLY 4-hour ZAZENKAI (ON SUNDAY!)

Yesterday was such a day I did not even get a chance to check in here. So, had I known, I could've sat live today. But, as it turned out, I started the taped version just as the live version was ending. All the same good.